The management of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) in the Northern Region has come under scrutiny after it emerged that the facility continued to pay the salary of a deceased staff member for more than two years.
According to findings from the latest report of the Auditor-General, the hospital disbursed salary payments to the late employee for 26 months after his death, costing the state thousands of Ghana cedis.
The report described the lapse as a clear breach of financial management regulations, stressing that the hospital’s failure to promptly delete the name from the government payroll points to weak internal controls.
This was made known by the management of the hospital at the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
The Committee raised alarm over financial irregularities at the hospital in the latest Auditor-General’s report.
The report cited unearned salaries totalling GH¢1,449,000, including payments made to a deceased staff member for 26 months.
The disclosure sparked outrage among committee members during a sitting in Accra on Monday, September 29.
Testifying before the committee, TTH’s Director of Administration, Dr Emmanuel Sena Kwasi Donkor, confirmed that only a fraction of the funds — GH¢303,558.68, representing about 21 per cent of the total — had been recovered to date.
“We were able to recover some amounts. Before we got here, we had received letters from some banks stating that they had stopped transferring the funds to the government chest,” Dr Donkor explained.
He appealed to Parliament for assistance in retrieving the outstanding money.
“Maybe at the end of this session, we will make a prayer to this House for the House to make an order directing those banks to transfer,” he said.
He also revealed that the matter had been referred to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for further action.
“EOCO has written back requesting the files of the people involved, and we have submitted them,” he added.
Despite his assurances, members of PAC expressed dissatisfaction with the hospital’s handling of the issue, warning that the mismanagement of public funds would not be tolerated.
“You validated and paid a dead man for 26 months. Didn’t you go to his funeral?”
—Management of Tamale Teaching Hospital questioned at the public accounts committee. pic.twitter.com/ouSdL34JvG
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) September 29, 2025
